A Fresh Way Forward For
Product Data
Product Data Working Group
Su Butcher
Product Data Working Group Chair
UK BIM Alliance
benitolamalfa
Complex
bensutherland
Complex
bensutherland
There needs to be
a Golden Thread…”
“
Dame Judith Hackitt DBE FREng
Source
Complexity of Product Information
Product Data is Fragmented
UK BIM
Alliance
BIM
Regions
BIM4’s
GCS
Introducing:
Common understanding; common approach; one voice
Harnessing the Power of the Grass Roots
Independent
Signatories
Arup Atkins
Bentley Systems Bouygues UK
BuildingSMART International
BRE Buro Happold
CIAT CIBSE
CITB CPA
CIC CITB
Constructing Excellence
Construction Leadership Council
Costain Ernst & Young
Ferrovial Agroman Heathrow Airports Ltd.
HS2 ICE
ICES IET
Jacobs JCT
Laing O’Rourke Knauf Insulation
Mace Map Action
National Infrastructure Council
NBS Network Rail / APM
Ordnance Survey RIBA
RICS The Survey Association VINCI
Patrons
Winfield Rock Report
bit.ly/WinfieldRock
A Fresh Way Forward For
Product Data
Product Data Working Group
• Defined and Organised
• Common Format
• Searchable and Identifiable
Essential for a
Digital Built Environment
Structured
Data is…
• In PDFs and PIMs
• No additional information
• Provide in Interoperable Form
• Provide it for Free
Get your PIM in order
Your Data
already
Exists
“PAS 1192-7 is an unpublished
draft product data standard,
based on the document Product
Data Definition: A technical
specification for defining and
sharing structured digital
construction product
information.”
Kieran Parkinson BSi May 2018
Organise by
Common
Standards
• No agreed standard yet
(Autumn 2020)
• CEN/ISO Technical Committee
TC442 Working Group 4
• BSi B555 Committee
Get your PIM in order ready.
The right
Attributes
the right
Names
Performance data
eg: electrical
Sustainability
eg: embodied carbon, EPD’s
FM eg: O&M schedules
Category eg: Cable Ladder
System or Powertrack System
Manufacturer data eg:
Name, website, link to tech data
Product specification data
eg: dimensions, available finishes
Avoid Walled Gardens:
• Data embedded in 3d objects
• Data you cannot update
• Data you no longer control
• Data that cannot flow freely
Allow Data
to flow
Independent Governance Committee
• Best Practice
• Plain English Guidance
• Fully Funded
• Government Endorsed
Governance
and
Education
Progress
• 3 Meetings
• 30+ Interviews
• 81 on Slack Channel
• Two Interim Reports:
bit.ly/PDWGinterim1
bit.ly/PDWGinterim2
PDWG – Get Involved
1. Talk about it #product_data
bit.ly/joinUKBIMAslack
2. Join our list of contributors/ Review
eepurl.com/dryptb
3. Contact us
pdwg@ukbimalliance.org
4. Launch DCW 18 October
Cartoons: gapingvoidart.com

A Fresh Way Forward for Product Data #SPRAconference2018

Editor's Notes

  • #3 I want to talk to you about Information. When people look at the construction industry they can’t understand why we are so behind when it comes to organising our information. After all, it should be so simple.
  • #4 We’re so used to being able to compare data and select products and services online like this.
  • #5 Product information might be simple, but how we deal with it is complex. Otherwise a situation like the Grenfell Tower disaster could not have happened. Instead we have needed a tragedy like this to point out the self evident truth.
  • #6 In her interim report on the review of the Building Regulations and Fire Safety, Dame Judith Hackitt first mentioned the concept of a golden thread of information for complex and high rise buildings. But in order to modernise our industry and get the benefits of digital transformation, we need a golden thread too. “There needs to be a golden thread for all complex and high-risk building projects so that the original design intent is preserved and recorded, and any changes go through a formal review process involving people who are competent and who understand the key features of the design.” First mentioned in Building a Safer Future Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Interim Report December 2017
  • #7 This diagram from the 2013 document PAS1192-2 which sets out how BIM shall be used for a construction project shows the quantity of information seamlessly growing through the construction stages until a uniform output is seamlessly transferred to the owners and operators. But it isn’t like that…and it certainly isn’t like that for Product Information.
  • #8 Through that 7 stage process, information of various types is produced by a range of different stakeholders, each of which obtains product information at some point along the way. Designers obtain information via catalogues and 3d objects. Installers and contractors obtain information through ERP systems, and of course the manufacturers have their own information for manufacture too. All these systems are separate. Where is the golden thread here? The risk of inconsistency in data is too great, and it isn’t relied upon.
  • #9 A great deal of time, effort and money has been spent on the topic of product data over the years, what with BIM Objects, the BIM Toolkit, Hosting companies, plug ins, Product Data Templates and much more. But all these initiatives are in some way partial because they only look at one part of the process - the industry is divided. At the end of last year the UK BIM Alliance decided it was in a unique position to help steer a way out of this difficult thicket and help identify an inclusive way forward which as an independent industry representative body, the Alliance can support and facilitate.
  • #10 So who are the UK BIM Alliance? We are the latest evolution of the UK BIM movement dedicated to the digital formation of the Built Environment. Terry Stocks, the Government’s Delivery Director for BIM Level 2, has confirmed that BIM Level 2 is a key stepping stone to the digitisation of our built envionment. We want BIM Level 2 to be business as usual, but It is not just about BIM, but a broader vision for what our industry can be. In an industry of over 2.1M people, where 95% work in SMEs; our mission is to enable all actors to understand the value of a digitally enabled industry. The UK BIM Alliance aims to lead, facilitate and focus this value proposition to industry
  • #11 Where did we come from? We are a collective of all the BIM4 communities, the special interest groups and BIM Regional groups which were set up during the implementation of the Government Mandate. These groups realised that if we worked together we’d be in a unique position to represent the voice of industry and deliver an independent, collaborative way forward. This is how the UK BIM Alliance was born.
  • #12 We are now an independent, self financing organisation. Anyone in our industry committed to digitisation can get involved in our work – there is no financial barrier to involvement. Here are just some of us with our chair, Anne Kemp at the Alliance Forum meeting in December.
  • #13 Our credibility comes not just from our grass roots groups but from our Signatories which include individuals from UK Government & Clients (spend £1bns on construction) The worlds leading consultancies & contractors The industry’s leading institutions, universities and academics And some of the most innovative SMEs & start-ups. From these are sourced our Strategic Advisory Board
  • #14 We are financially independent, raising funds from patrons. These are the first ten patrons we’ve signed up in six months. Another eight are in the pipeline, including Atkins, BEAMA, Weinerberger, Viewpoint, Trimble and Newforma. These organisations want to see the industry digitised, and are willing to invest in a collaborative venture to make it work properly. Patrons cannot influence the direction of our work, this is controlled by the executive team who report to the board and our communities.
  • #15 We work on identifying the areas of common interest and need, helping fill the gaps and push forward in areas where an independent oversight and leadership are required. For example this spring we published the Winfield Rock Report, which examines the legal and contractual issues surrounding BIM and aims to provide clarity to the legal profession and industry alike. Its been extremely well received.
  • #16 And to look at the issue of Product data we set up the Product Data Working Group to start the process. The group is putting toghether a report on the ‘State of the Nation’ with Product Data, stepping back and looking at where the gaps are, what initiatives are dead ends and what companies can do to make sure they don’t go down them but instead prepare for the future. Because this isn’t actually about technology, brands and markets, it is about processes and continuity. The working group is reporting in October but here is my personal view on what we are finding out, and what you can do about Product Data today.
  • #17 Firstly we are talking about Structured Data – that is Data that is Defined and organised in a common format such that it can be readily searched and identified within an electronic file. In other words, in a database with the same headings as other comparable data. Structured data is the essential element to enable communication in a digitally built environment.
  • #18 If you are a manufacturer, the data you need to provide already exists in your systems. You won’t need to provide any information that you don’t already have in your systems and brochures, simply provide it in an interoperable form. (a format that can be transferred between software types and compared with other data about similar products) Get your PIM in order and don’t worry about making new stuff – you already have it. Suppliers and manufacturers should not be deceived into thinking of ‘BIM Data’ as different from the data you already have. Its just Data. Get it in order.
  • #19 Your data will ultimately need to organised in accordance with national and international standards. Unfortuately such a standard does not yet exist. The PAS document PAS1192 part 7 was shelved at the end of last year.
  • #20 There is no agreed standard for product data. The current timetable in Autumn 2020! Standards take a long time. Groups working on them are CEN/ISO TC442 Working Group 4 and BSi B555 Committee. PAS1192 documents being brought into a new ISO in the Autumn (PAS1192-7 on product data on hold) We call on all of industry to commit to complying by the standards and help produce them. In the meantime concentrate on getting your product data digitised in a common way so the standards can be applied when they are implemented.
  • #21 So what data do you need to provide? We need to choose the right attibutes that are required, and give them the right names. For example, what is this? I’d call it a bap but you might call it a barm cake or oven bottom.
  • #22 The Product Data Template initiatives have been focused on this. But don’t be confused about what a PDT is – it is a set of attributes that have been agreed as the common useful ones for a product, with the agreed names(labels) and units. The current initiatives, CIBSE, BIM4Water, LEXiCON are all about determining what those attributes are. Currently they are all working separately but we hope that this will become organised into one initiative which will involve cross industry support and be properly funded.
  • #23 It is very important that you allow your data to flow and don’t end up in a walled garden which for some reason (commercial or otherwise) prevents data flow. For example, Proprietary systems that embed data in 3D objects are a dead end. They were a good idea at the time, but prevent updating information either automatically or efficiently. Don’t spend money putting your information into such initiatives. You should only need to enter data once.
  • #24 Finally we expect to be recommending that there is an independent ‘Governence Committee’. It was a surprise to us that no such organisation exists. It is no wonder that we are relying on partial solutions at present and the sector is lacking direction and leadership. The committee will need to a) provide clear plain English guidance to industry on product data and b) be fully independently funded and ratified by government.
  • #25 So far we’ve had three meetings in April, May and June and interviewed over 30 people. We set up a slack channel which has 81 members and we have transparently reported on our progress via two interim reports, which you have been able to access via these short links. We aim to have a draft report ready for peer review at the end of July and will launch the full report in October at Digital Construction Week.
  • #26 So can you still get involved? Yes use the dedicated slack channel – this is our preferred means of communication because it is quick, inclusive and interactive. If you want to be interviewed, listed as a contributor to the report (and also if you want to put your name down for a review copy in confidence) use this form. Finally you can email us at our dedicated email address. On 18 October at Digital Construction Week we will launch the report and you can pick up a copy then. Thank you.